He Never Knew
by BanksPortmanMendozaWu
Summary: Fulton meets a family he never knew he had.
1. Default Chapter

He Never Knew  
  
Author - BanksPortmanMendozaWu (Or Tara, if you want my real name)  
  
Summary - Fulton meets into the family that he never knew he had.   
  
Feedback - Go for it. But be gentle. This is my first fic in MD-verse.  
  
Notes - This is my first (well, tied first) fic that I am posting in this fandom. I am kind of worried about this one because I am also kind of worried about getting back into writing (that is why I have to fics going at the same time, so that there is a bit of diversity in my work out there. But then again, I am a little insane.) This is a little angst and such, and I hope it doesn't completely suck. If it does, I may just have to cry like a little baby.   
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
"Coach Orion, Sir?"  
  
"What!" The irritable coach of the Eden hall Mighty Ducks exclaimed as he turned to the young girl standing behind him. The girl jumped and held out a piece of paper to him.   
  
"I was asked to deliver this" she explained softly. "It is for one of your players. Very urgent apparently."   
  
Orion took the piece of folded paper from the girl and nodded his thanks. The girl smiled a little and turned, leaving the rink. Orion glanced once again at the note in his hand. Written clearly on the front was the name of the player that the note was to be given to, but at that very moment, he didn't want to disturb the team practice. They had won their game the day before, but just barely, and now, he wanted them to train hard for the next one. He slid the note into the front of his clipboard and watched the scrimmage.   
  
But soon, curiosity got the better of him. He was never one to be able to hold onto something like that, he always wanted to know everything as soon as it happened. And he knew that it would not be fair to hold back this note from its owner, especially if it was important. What was the word that the messenger had used, 'urgent'  
  
Orion blew his whistle. "Fulton, get over here!"  
  
Fulton Reed skated over to where Orion was standing, and in the normal fashion, Dean Portman, his best friend, followed him. Soon, the rest of the team had gathered nearby.   
  
"What did I do coach?" Fulton asked, worried. It was obvious that he and Portman, his usual partner in crime, were searching their minds for something that could get them in trouble. Portman's face then changed, so either he had not found anything, or he had given up.   
  
"Note from the main office. Urgent." he handed Fulton the note. Fulton looked down at it then unfolded it.   
  
"Its from my dad" he announced. Orion rolled his eyes.   
  
"Probably just reminding you to get milk on the way home, right Fulton?" Orion asked. A few people chuckled but when Fulton didn't reply, they all began to start paying attention to him.   
  
"Dude?" Portman asked, thumbing his friend on the shoulder . It was obvious that he was worried for his friend, but Orion always wondered why the two of them thumped each other around to show their emotion.   
  
"My mom died" he muttered more to himself then to any one else. And in that instant, Orion felt awful.   
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
"You didn't really know her, right?" Portman asked He was watching as his friend threw a few of his things into his hockey bag. His father had arranged that Fulton have a week off to go to the funeral if he wanted it. It had been a split second decision, but he knew that he would regret not going.   
  
"I never met her. She left me and my dad when I was only two months old. Since then she has always just been a card on my birthday, you know, but I know that if I don't do this, I am going to regret this forever…"  
  
"I understand, don't need to explain yourself to me man" Portman told him. "must have been rough, living with out your mom."  
  
"Not really" Fulton shrugged. He had never told any one on the team about any of this, except for Bombay. Bombay had asked. And now, Portman was asking. Just because he had never volunteered the information didn't mean that he would not answer if he was questioned. "She was to young to have a kid. So was Pa really…"  
  
"How old were they?" Portman asked him.   
  
"Umm Mom was 14" Fulton said, preoccupied with stuffing his clothing in his bag. "Pa was 16, I think, or maybe he was 15. I don't know."  
  
"That is young" Portman agreed. "Especially for the time that you were born…"  
  
"Yeah" he sighed. "Mom's parents kicked her out, so she moved in with pop and his mom. My Gran. Dad promised her that he would look after her, but then, after I was born, she freaked and she ran. Dad promised that he would always look after me, So he did."  
  
"What happened then?"  
  
"What?" he asked, emptying his sock draw. "Oh, yeah, well, dad got two jobs so he would have the money to look after me, so Gran brought me up. She taught me everything. I love Gran. Really miss her to. She died the year before I joined the Ducks. After that I pretty much looked after myself. Mom was no big thing in my life."  
  
"Then why are you going half way across the country to her funeral?" Portman asked. Then paused. "Sorry Man, that sounded really heartless."  
  
"No, I understand Dude." Fulton sighed, sitting on his bed. He had moved into the dorms when he had been offered the scholarship because he knew that it would take some of the strain off of his father, not having to worry about buying things for him. "I guess I always knew that she was there. The year after the games, my birthday card had this little message in it, that surprised me and angered me all at once. She had written 'I am so proud of you Fult. I watched you on the games. You did so well. I told my friends about you.' That really got to me. She had not even told her friends about me. She was ignoring the fact that I existed. Then, the year later, she told me that I could come and visit her if I wanted to. I didn't want to, but it was nice to know that she would make room in her life for me if I wanted her to. That was the most motherly thing that she had ever done for me."  
  
Portman nodded.   
  
"I was going to go out that way after high school was finished, you know. Maybe get a job for a while here, save up some cash and then road trip out to north Carolina to met her. But, I guess I wont get that chance."  
  
Portman didn't know what to do. He hated it when people had bad news, because he never knew what to say, and now, it seemed, that all this thinking about the past had hurt his friend.   
  
"You will be gone a week right?" Portman asked, finding a 'safe' subject. Fulton nodded. "How do you get there?"  
  
"Plane, taxi, train and then another taxi" he replied, zipping up his bag. "I think I have everything"  
  
"Right, well, good luck with everything man. If you need anything, you know the number" Portman told him. Fulton laughed at his friends attitude. "I will take notes for you in classes"  
  
"So will I, just in case you actually want to pass." Julie told him. She had been standing outside the door, waiting for Fulton to exit. Fulton smiled at her.   
  
"Thanks guys." he smiled.   
  
"Fult, your taxi to the airport is here" Charlie said from the end of the hall. "Good luck"  
  
"Thanks" he smiled at the captain and then turned back to the others. "Hey, don't cry, I am only going for a week" he smiled. Connie slapped him on the arm.   
  
"I am not crying" she told him, standing on his toes to wrap her arms around his shoulders, hugging him quickly. "If you need anything Fult"  
  
"I know" he smiled, letting her go. "What, no hug from Gaffney?"  
  
"Just waiting in line" she smiled, moving to hug him. Fulton wondered when it was that he and the girls had been in such a hug accepting friendship. He had known Connie since they were little kids, and he was close to Julie because she was close to Portman. But they had never really been hugging friends.   
  
He released Julie and then turned to Portman. "Men don't hug, right"  
  
"No, but brothers do" Portman replied. Pulling his friend into one of those manly hugs where most of it is slapping each other around.   
  
"If anything happens between you and Jules while I am gone…" Fulton began softly.   
  
"I know man, you are the first to know" Portman smiled, patting him on the back again. Fult moved away and picked up his things.   
  
"See you guys next week. Good luck in the game against the bears, sorry I cant be there for it."  
  
And before any one could say anything, he was gone.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Ok, that was the first chapter, I hope that you like it. You know what to do now though, click the little button and give me a review. Thanks. 


	2. Chapter 2

He Never Knew - Chapter 2  
  
Disclaimer - (which I totally forgot in the last chapter, sorry) The mighty Ducks, who rule, do not belong to me, they belong to Disney. The characters you do not recognise, such as Harry, Catherine, Brodie, Dominic and Ryan are property of me.   
  
Feedback - I adore it, thank you to those who have reviewed already ( Canadian-Hockey-girl, CakeEatersGirly99 and CF28, you had nice things to say, and for that I thank you)  
  
Notes - This chapter is a little longer then the last one. I had a lot to say I guess. And also, it features a cameo by two of the other ducks. (I have no idea why I put Dwayne in, but for some reason, I find found Guy easy to write.   
  
Oh, and if any one else finds it weird that Fulton would be staying with Harry and his family, just go with it, even if it seems odd. I hate to be one of the authors who says "it is my fic, I will do what I want" I will if I have to. J  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Fulton got our of the taxi after paying the driver, and made his way up the drive way. Apparently, he was expected. His father had gotten the phone call about his mother from one of his mother's friends, who then arranged for Fulton to stay with his mothers husband. (he guess that would make him his step father, but he was yet to meet him, so the title didn't fit.)  
  
Fulton realised as he made his way up the drive that his mother had a whole life without him. It was never something that he had really considered. She had a husband, a nice house, and probably other children. He had no idea how he would deal with any of this, because the truth was, it was not his to deal with. This family was already complete, he was the one who was joining it, or at least disrupting it. But anyway, he had a family. He had two families. His father, and the Ducks.   
  
He knocked on the door, and waited anxiously for it to open. The man who did open the door was in his mid thirties. He looked at Fulton, and smiled, holding out his hand. "You must be Fulton. You look so much like her."  
  
Fulton shook the offered, not sure what to say to that.   
  
"Oh, come in, where are my manners. I am Harry, and I am…well, was, married to your mother" he introduced himself. Fulton stepped into the house and looked around. "I know this might be awkward for you son, but, well, lets just say that I am sorry how all this worked out. I know that Catherine wanted to get to know you…"  
  
"I would have liked to have gotten to know her to" he said softly. It was something he never would have admitted. But after voicing the thought to Portman before he had left, it suddenly wasn't that hard to admit that he had of liked to have met her. "I was going to visit after school finished, but…"  
  
Harry nodded and led him to the living room. "Can I get you something to drink. Coffee, Tea, Water, Juice, Soda?"  
  
"Soda, please" Fulton accepted, and he waited in the living room while Harry left to get the drinks. There where photographs on the mantle that drew his attention. He stood and crossed the room. There was a picture of Harry and a woman who looked a lot like him, who he assumed was his mother. There was also a picture of the family. Harry and his mother, Catherine stood around three children. A teenager who looked about 16, and two boys who looked about 6.   
  
"That is Brodie, and the twins, Dominic and Ryan." Harry said, coming back into the room and realising what he was looking at. "Dom and Ry are to young to understand really…Brodie is taking the loss very hard."  
  
"She would, being the only girl" Fulton replied, placing the photograph back on the mantle, and then, something caught his eye. It was a framed photograph of him, taken from some newspaper. He recognised it, it was one of the stories about the bash brothers, because Portman's arm was still visible.  
  
"She put that there last Christmas" Harry told him. Fulton nodded. "That was when she told the others, Brodie and the boys, I mean. Up till then, she didn't know the best way to tell them that they had an older brother."  
  
"They know about me?" he asked surprised.  
  
"Yeah. They were shocked. Brodie was smart, she always knew what was going on. Every year on your birthday, your mother would cry. Brodie had always just thought that she had lost a child. And for a long time, Catherine used to pretend that she had. She never expected to see you at the goodwill games."  
  
"How did they react?" Fulton asked.   
  
"The twins cant wait to meet you. Like I said, they don't understand, they just know that you are their brother. Brodie, well, she understands a lot more about a lot of things…" Harry began. "I am not sure how she will react to you"  
  
Fulton nodded, Harry went on. "So come, sit down Fulton, tell me a little about yourself?"  
  
"What do you want to know?" he asked. Harry shrugged.   
  
"You still play Hockey?" he asked.   
  
"Yeah, for the same team. Me and my best friend Portman…I mean, Dean, we are going to play in the minors when school is over, and then we are going to try and get into the same professional team. Well, that is the long term plan at least" he sighed. "Did she…I mean, did…mom, ever watch any of my games?"  
  
He had no idea why he wanted to know that. But he had had the sudden thought that his career was something that he would have liked to share with her. She had written that she was proud of him, but he would have liked to be there, so she could have told him that firsthand.   
  
"She follows hockey religiously. I mean…" he paused, but did not correct himself. "Growing up in Minnesota gave her an obsession. Catherine used to watch any type of hockey she could. Minor, Professionals, the Junior goodwill games … She saw the very first team USA game and burst into tears when she heard that Fulton Reed was playing. That was the day that I found out about you. She taped every game after that, and would watch them all a million times. She went online and brought a Jersey with your name on it. Your mother was your biggest fan"  
  
Fulton looked down, begging the tears not to fall. He could not believe that he was getting so teary eyed over the woman who he never knew. She was his mother, but really, that was all that he knew about her. But to hear that she had followed his semi professional career was heartbreaking. He had convinced himself early on in his life that his mother didn't love him, but now, after only ten minutes in her house, he realised that he was wrong.  
  
"I really wish that…" Fulton began, but was cut off by the front door opening. Two little boys ran in, followed by a teenager.   
  
"You little mutants, I hate you so much!" she exclaimed after the boys who ran into the kitchen. She paused in the doorway of the living room and stared at Fulton. Harry stood.   
  
"How was school?" Harry asked softly. The teenage girl shrugged. Fulton stood and took in the girl before her. It was odd to look at her, she had brown hair and brown eyes, just like him. It was strange, she really was his sister.   
  
"It was school" she told him. She looked at Fulton.   
  
"Brodie, this is Fulton Reed…" Harry began.   
  
"Yeah, the brother" Brodie nodded. "I know who he is. He looks a lot like mom"  
  
Fulton once again didn't know what to say. He also didn't know if Brodie liked him or not. He understood if she hated him. This would have to be odd for her. It was odd for him to.   
  
"Hi" he said softly.   
  
"You have come to pay your respects then?" Brodie asked. "Because we can not say that you are here to mourn with family" Harry went to reprimand her for her behaviour, but she just shrugged and turned, running up the stairs to her room.   
  
"I am sorry about her" Harry replied. "Like I said, she has been taking it really hard."  
  
"I understand" he nodded, looking up the stairs after her.   
  
"Do you want to meet the boys, I am sure that they would really like to meet you."  
  
"Sure"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Dinner was eaten in silence. Fulton had spent the afternoon getting to know Dominic and Ryan. They were easy enough to get along with. Fulton had always found himself at ease with little children, which was something that was odd to others, seeing a seven foot tall mountain of muscle playing with little kids.   
  
Dominic and Ryan got him involved in conversations on anything from hockey to their mother and how much they missed her. Harry had said that they younger ones didn't understand, but it was obvious that they understood enough.   
  
But now dinner was in a strange silence. Fulton didn't know what to say, Brodie sat, glaring, and the twins were occupied with just eating. Suddenly, after ten minutes of the strained silence, the truth came forward.   
  
"He is in Mom's chair" Brodie announced, dropping her fork with an clatter. Fulton looked across the table at her, and then at Harry, who sighed.   
  
"Brodie, it is ok"  
  
"It is not ok, that is Mom's chair. He has no right to be sitting in it. If anyone should be sitting there, I should!" Brodie replied.   
  
"Would you like to swap places then?" Fulton asked, trying to sound polite but not rudely so.   
  
"I don't want you sitting in my seat either." She replied softly. "Dad, cant he sit at the other end of the table" she asked, indicating to the empty chair at the end of the table. That was the chair that he had originally intended to sit in, but Dominic had grabbed his hand and pulled him into the seat beside him.   
  
Harry looked as though he was about to say something when Fulton interrupted. "I will move"  
  
Harry nodded a little as Fulton picked up his plate and moved it to the other end of the table. He thanked Dominic who picked up his class of cola and handed it to him. Brodie nodded approvingly and then went back to her meal.   
  
Dinner continued silently, but Brodie continued to shoot glares at him. Fulton sighed, he now had an answer to his question, Brodie didn't like him.   
  
"Oh, Fulton, I nearly forgot, if you want to call your father or any one to tell them that you arrived safely, then you may use the phone." Harry told him. Fulton nodded, he would like to just say hello to his dad, and maybe call Portman, or some one else on the team. Anyone, just to assure himself that he was not a horrible guy. His sisters gaze was unsettling. It made him feel that his presence was not accepted, and it was making him feel uncomfortable. Maybe a little comfort from home would help.   
  
So after dinner, after helping Harry with the dishes, he settled in the living room with the phone. Harry was putting the twins to bed, and Brodie had locked herself in her room, so he had a little bit of time to himself. He called home, talking briefly with his father who had just woken up from his daily nap that he took between jobs. Even thought he now needed less money for Fulton, considering he was at Eden hall all of the time and he got food and board and an education for free, his father still worked his two jobs to save money for his collage education. His father had told him that he would see him in a week.   
  
Next he called the Eden hall dorms. There was a one in thirteen chance that Dean would be the one to answer the payphone at the end of the hall (the duck phone, as it had been named) but then again, he wasn't a betting man.   
  
The phone was answered on the fifth ring. "Howdy?  
  
"Hey Dwayne, its Fulton" he smiled, even hearing the cowboys voice, long distance was a good thing. He didn't think he would ever enjoy hearing the southerners drawl.   
  
"Hey Fulton, how are you, how are things there?" He asked, then his tone changed "I was sorry to hear about your mom. You left before I could give my condolences."  
  
"That was the plan cowboy, but thank you for the thought" he replied honestly.   
  
"I guess you want to talk to Dean? I will see if I can find him for you…"  
  
"Thank you" Fulton replied, but he was sure that Dwayne had already left, probably leaving the phone swinging by the cord.   
  
"Hey Fult!" a new voice took over, but it was not Dean. He could tell, because this voice was nothing like Portman's, and also the fact that if Dwayne went to get him, it would take a little while to find him "You got there safely?"  
  
"Yeah Guy, I got here alright. Just doing the whole checking in thing like a good Duck." Fulton replied smiling. Guy was a cool guy, they had known each other since before District 5.   
  
"Connie is really worried about you" Guy told him. "All worried that you are some big emotional train wreck or something…you know, sometimes I think that my girlfriend is in love with you"  
  
"Well, you know that as much as I love Connie, I could never do that to you man." He joked. "Tell her I am fine"  
  
"I will." He replied. "In fact, I plan to, if I have to hear poor Fulton one more time, I will scream. Not that what you are going through isn't bad man…"  
  
"I understand…" Fulton replied, and then paused, sensing movement. Brodie was standing in the doorway, watching silently. "Hi"  
  
She shrugged coldly and made her way into the kitchen, Fulton turned back to the conversation that he was having with Guy.   
  
"Hey, Dwayne just told me that Dean and Julie are studying, and that your bash bro threatened our resident cowboy with bodily harm before he could manage to tell him that you were on the phone." Fulton chuckled, it sounded like something that Portman would say, especially when he was with Julie.   
  
"Sounds like something that Dean would say" Fulton replied. "It is ok, I will call back later…"  
  
"Hey, give me the number there and I will get him to call you…" Guy told him. Fulton sighed.   
  
"I don't know the number." Fulton began, but then paused when Brodie, who was walking through the room, stopped, picked up a note pad and scribbled something on it. She handed it to him. Fulton looked down at the phone number. "I have the number now…"  
  
Fulton turned to say thankyou, but she was already gone.   
  
"…Ok Fult, I have the number, I will write him a note"  
  
"No!" Fulton smiled. "Don't do that, he will never read it. You will have to tell him and make sure he writes it down in his own handwriting or he will never get it. Or better yet, tell Julie, she will make sure that he gets it…"  
  
Guy chuckled. Their friends were so predictable.   
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Ok, another chapter out of the way. I know that Harry's behaviour is a little odd, but 'meh' 


	3. Chapter 3

He Never Knew - Chapter 3  
  
Disclaimer - The ducks belong to Disney. Brodie, Catherine, Harry and the twins are all mine.   
  
Notes - Ok, I have set up a system with my two stories. Every second day this one will be updated, and every other day, Romeo and Julie will be updated. So since R+J was updated yesterday, today, this one is to be updated.   
  
But now, notes on this chapter. I am sorry if the grief in this chapter does not seem real, I have never lost anyone close to me, so I don't know how it would all be dealt with. I hope this sounds believable  
  
As always, review.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
Fulton knelt in front of Ryan and helped the child with his tie. He then turned to the other boy, who was struggling with his jacket. When both the boys were dressed, he sat, beginning to teach them an easy way to tie their shoelaces.   
  
"You got them ready?" a voice asked from the doorway. Fulton looked up at Brodie, she was in a simple black dress, ready to go to the funeral. She looked angry at him. "I said I was going to do it" She stormed into the room.   
  
"I am sorry" he told her "I was just trying to help"  
  
"We don't need your help" she snapped at him, taking Dominic and Ryan by the hand and leading them into the kitchen. She sat them on the kitchen table and tied their shoe laces for them, then, she brushed their hair and told them to wait in the living room for Harry. Fulton stood to the side of the kitchen and watched as she moved around quickly.   
  
"We got on for years without even knowing that you existed, and now you are just here, and you think that you can just jump into the family, and be a big brother to us all, and a fantastic step son to Harry. It doesn't work that way. You wanted nothing to do with our mother when she was alive, so you think that now that she is dead you can just come here and …" she turned suddenly and left out the back door of the house.   
  
Fulton decided it was best to sit and wait in the living room with the twins. He had no idea what to expect from these people, but he completely understood where Brodie's hostility was coming from when it came to him. He understood that the girl had lost her mother, so had he, but as Brodie had said, it was completely different, he never knew her.   
  
The funeral would be hard on him, but for different reasons, he realised. His mother had wrote him once that she had informed others of his existence, that meant that others at the funeral today would know who he was (especially if what Harry and Brodie had said was correct and he looked like his mother). Would others look at him the same way that Brodie did? Would they say he had no right to be there? Would they say that he had no reason the mourn, for he was a stranger to his own mother?  
  
Didn't Brodie see that he regretted not knowing her? That if he could turn back the hands of time he would have come to visit her when she had invited him to? That was his main wish, that he had of recognised the motherly gesture from years before and accepted her invitation. Fulton wanted to tell Brodie that he would have visited, and that he had a plan to visit in the coming summer, but he knew it would do nothing, she hated him.   
  
Growing up, all Fulton ever wanted was a family. Brothers and sisters mostly, because he had his father and he had his gran, so he really never needed a mother, but he wished that he would siblings. That was one of the reasons he had joined the ducks. They were kids his age, some one to interact with, and they had soon become a family. He protected them like he had ten brothers and two sisters. He had never even considered that he would have a real family out there.  
  
But he did. Brodie, Ryan and Dominic, they were his half siblings, but they were still his siblings. They all had the same bond, and no matter how much Brodie resented that, it was something that she could not escape. It may have been true, he may not have been the greatest son to their mother, but he was there to make amends. Even if it was to late.   
  
He watched as the twins sat on the couch in front of him, talking quietly. They were like him, not in looks, but in what they were going through. Fulton had been ten when his steady female influence, his gran, had died, and the twins were only six, and they were left with their father, just as he had been. But they had Brodie, and Brodie loved them.   
  
He wondered if after this he would lose touch with hid mothers children. He hoped not, It was an odd feeling. In just one day, he had realised that something he had never considered, his mother having other children was in fact correct, and he went from being an only child to the oldest of four. He hoped that in years to come, Harry would still let him stay in contact with the twins, and that one day, Brodie would be able to talk to him without hissing and glaring.   
  
Brodie came into the living room and quickly crossed to the front window. "Dad, the car is here!"  
  
Harry came down the stairs, tying his tie. Never once had Fulton thought about how all this was effecting Harry. He was only young, and he was saying a final goodbye to his wife today. It made Fulton sad to think about it. He was not in a point in his life where he thought overly about women, but he knew it would be hard to lose the woman that you loved, especially quite early on.   
  
"Come on Kids, lets go!" Harry announced, Brodie shot one more look at Fulton and then took the twins by the hands and led them out of the house. Fulton stood, pausing beside Harry and patting him reassuringly on the shoulder.   
  
"Are you ok?" he asked. Not exactly the best thing he could have said, he realised as an after thought, but he had wanted some way to show some form of support. Harry nodded and smiled weakly.   
  
"I will manage Fulton. Now go, help Brodie make sure the twins are in the car properly."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
As he had suspected, the funeral was an exhausting affair. It was just a small gathering of friends and family, and fortunately, most people there knew who he was. He did not have to have any confusing and stressing conversations with any one to explain that he was. Most people said the same things to him, it was unfortunate that he did not get to meet his mother.   
  
Brodie disappeared after only speaking to a few people at the conclusion of the service. She stayed only long enough to tell a few people that "he may look like Mom, but he is not my brother" before she left with one of her friends. Harry had let her go, understanding that this was a stressful time, and that she would not really want to gather with the others at the lunch that had been organised.   
  
At the lunch, were many that had not been at the funeral came to pay their respects, Fulton stayed in the corner, looking after the twins and only speaking when some one approached him. He felt completely on the side lines of the whole event. People had accepted that he was the son of Catherine Rogers, but no one seemed to know what to say to him.   
  
A few congratulated him on his hockey career thus far. It seemed that his mother told every one that her oldest son was a semi-professional athlete that had represented America on a competitive level. They all assured him that his mother had been proud, and once again, Fulton remained speechless, unsure of how to react to it all.   
  
The afternoon continued and soon the people who had come to pay their respects left. Harry looked exhausted, emotionally and physically.   
  
"If you wish to rest, I can look after the boys for the rest of the night" Fulton offered. Harry looked up at him from where he was sitting and rubbing his eyes. He looked as though he had forgotten that Fulton was even there. He looked distracted.   
  
"All you would have to do is feed them and put them to bed, I am sure that they are exhausted as well" Harry began, standing. "Is Brodie back yet?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Don't worry about her, she will be. Brodie knows when to be home by" he replied. Crossing to the other side of the room where the twins were drawing pictures, he kissed each of the boys of the head, said a quick goodnight and then crossed back to where Fulton was standing. "Thank you for watching them today…"  
  
"It was nothing" Fulton replied. "I am just sorry that there was nothing more I could do to help out around here."  
  
"You are doing more then enough Fulton." he informed him. Fulton nodded, and shook his hand.   
  
Getting the boys settled was easier then he had suspected. He had made them sandwiches, which they ate quietly, and then he had bathed them and put them to bed. They had asked him to tell them a story, about Hockey, and before Fulton could even get half way through his retelling of the first Iceland game, when he realised that they were both asleep.   
  
Sleep was a fair way off for him though. It was only nine o'clock, so he wandered back into the living room and turned on the TV. He wondered briefly if he could get away with calling the Dorms again, see if he could catch Dean or some one else. It felt like he was in some strange twilight zone episode, he needed to talk to a duck to keep himself grounded.   
  
But he soon found himself relaxing when he found a hockey game to watch. Hockey always had that effect on him, even before he played it. He would attend district 5 games and watch the others. The fact the he couldn't skate was the only thing that was keeping him off the ice.   
  
But that felt like a million years ago now. Back when things were different. Back when he was still hurting over the loss of his gran, back when he was just strange Fulton with a million rumours. Back before he met Dean and became a bash brother. Back before his mother acknowledged him.   
  
Things seemed easier then. He would bash pucks in the alley and tell himself that he didn't need a mother. He had his father and that was enough. But being here, being in this house, he realised he was wrong, he did need a mother. He always needed a mother.   
  
At the games, he would sometimes listen to Dean talking to his mom on the phone, and sometimes Mrs. Portman would ask to speak to him. She would ask if he was eating right, and if he was looking after himself, and as much as Dean and him had rolled their eyes, Fulton loved the fact that some one cared enough to ask.   
  
But things were different now. He was older. He didn't need a mother, but he wished he had of earlier.   
  
The front door opened, and Brodie entered, she paused and stared at him "You were waiting up for me?" she accused.   
  
"I was watching the hockey game" he replied calmly, indicating to the game that was on TV. Brodie still glared at him.   
  
"I don't believe you" she replied. "I think you are waiting up for me to get home…"  
  
"Believe what you want to believe Brodie…" He sighed. "You are going to anyway."  
  
"Don't use that tone with me Reed!"  
  
"Or what Brodie?" he asked softly, Brodie just glared at him again. "Brodie, I don't want to fight with you. The funeral was today, now is not a good time for either of us…"  
  
"Shut up!" She launched herself at him, and began hitting him in the chest. Fulton let her. "Shut up, Shut up, don't say this is hard for you, I hate you, I hate you…"  
  
Fulton allowed her to get it all out of her system. As much as it pained him to hear this girl, who was his sister, say these things to him, he knew that she had to let t all out.  
  
"I hate you" she collapsed back onto the couch, crying. Tears ran down her cheek and rolled off her chin. "Why did you even have to come here?"  
  
"I had to come"  
  
"No, you didn't….we don't need you. Don't you see, we don't need you here" she growled at him. "When are you leaving, I don't want you here!"  
  
"Sunday night, and then you never have to see me again" Fulton said softly. This was hurting him more than the funeral had.   
  
Brodie gathered her strength, sat up, wiped her cheeks and smiled a little to herself. "Good, on Sunday you leave, and never come back!"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Tell me what you think, and remember, Romeo and Julie will be updated tomorrow. Smile. 


	4. Chapter 4

He Never Knew - Chapter 4  
  
Disclaimer - None of the characters that you recognise belong to me, they all belong to Disney, except for the family.   
  
Notes - I have started to hopefully lighten up the character of Brodie. Stuff happens in this chapter to make her not so harsh (at least I think that it does) and I put a little bit towards the end that may change your thoughts on Brodie. (Doesn't matter if it doesn't)  
  
And on a completely different note, I was walking home today, and guess what I saw. Fulton Street. Dude, its like, Fulton street. So I came home and got the street directory out, and guess what, in the next suburb, there is a Portman Road. I am going to try and find street signs with each name of the Ducks, and then go on a stealing spree. (Joke, but I honestly if I can fin Ken Street and Luis Street, I would be happy)  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Fulton turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. The footsteps stopped, and he turned back to the fridge. He decided he would offer to go shopping later that day. He didn't care what Brodie said, while he was here, he was going to help Harry in anyway that he could. Harry was a nice guy, and he looked after his children well, he didn't deserve the pain that he was going through. He needed all the help that he could get.  
  
There was footsteps on the stairs again, and suddenly, two six year olds were in the kitchen, jumping around him. "Fulton, Fulton! You wake up early to"  
  
Fulton smiled at Dominic and picked both the boys up, sitting them on the kitchen counter. It as probably against some house rule, but he preferred to be able to see people when he spoke to them. It was something that had only come about in recent years, being able to see into a persons eyes while they spoke gave a level of honesty to the conversation. None of the ducks ever had problems with meeting each others eyes as they spoke, and that was always a comfort to him.   
  
"Yeah, I think it might be the athlete in me, but I always wake up early, even when I don't have to."  
  
"You train in the morning?" Ryan asked, amazed. Fulton smiled and patted his head.   
  
"We train in the morning, in the afternoon, sometimes at night and sometimes on Sundays" Fulton explained to them. "It is a lot of hard work playing hockey…"  
  
"We want to play hockey" Dominic announced. "Be bash brothers like you and Portman…"  
  
Fulton smiled and looked in the fridge again, pulling out a loaf of bread. After looking quickly around the kitchen, he found the toaster.   
  
"You want to be just like me and Portman huh?" he asked. Ryan and Dominic nodded.   
  
"Bash people into the boards. Its looks like fun…"  
  
"It is more then just bashing people into the boards. You have to know everyone on the team, you have to understand how their mind works. You have to know who to protect and when, who will pass to who, and who will move to intercept. You have to know about your opposition to, know their strengths and weaknesses. Understand who you have to hit to break their game, without letting anyone break your teams…"  
  
"Wow." Ryan smiled. "You make it seem so much easier then that…"  
  
"It is easy if you are friends with your team mates." he replied, putting bread in the toaster. "What do you want on your toast…"  
  
The twins moved to help Fulton, Dominic set the table while Ryan helped with the toast.   
  
"Fulton, you didn't finish the story last night!" Dominic said suddenly. "We fell asleep!"  
  
Fulton smiled. "What was I up to?"  
  
"Gaffney just got taken out of the game for intent to injure" Ryan told him as he took a few more pieces of toast out of the toaster and threw them quickly to the plate, with the growing stack of already toasted bread.   
  
"Ahh yeah, well…" Fulton began.   
  
"Banks gets hit by a Icelander and injures his wrist. They lost 12 - 1" Brodie interrupted as she entered the kitchen. "We have watched that game a thousand times, you know what happens!"  
  
"But Brodie, Fulton was there, he lived it. He knows what really happened" Dominic said excitedly. Brodie groaned and rolled her eyes. Her brothers hero worshipped him, just because he was at some hockey game.  
  
"I made toast…" Fulton told her. Brodie shook her head and move into the kitchen.  
  
"I don't eat toast" she spat and then opened the pantry.   
  
"That's ok then, more for me, Ryan and Dom…" Fulton smiled, carrying the plate to the table. Brodie slammed her plate down on the table.   
  
"Dominic, his name is Dominic. You have no right to call him Dom." she informed him. Fulton sighed. He had hoped that they could at least be pleasant with each other, but it looked like that wouldn't be happening. "I told you already, you cant just pretend that you have been in this family all along!"  
  
He nodded and buttered a piece of the toast for each of the boys before buttering some for himself. Brodie was now stomping around the kitchen, obviously in a bad mood with him. He decided it would be easier to keep a low profile today, stay away from Brodie, and maybe things would be a little better. He wondered if it was possible to keep a low profile until Sunday when he had to leave.   
  
Brodie stormed over to the fridge, pulling it open and looking suspiciously at the contents. There was very little there. It had been shopping day on the day that her mother had died, and since then, it had been the last thing on everyone's mind to go to the store and restock the house. People had been bringing then food anyway, so it had not been a desperate issue.   
  
Catherine had been killed in a traffic accident, on the way to the mall, where she usually met her small group of friends, who all had children around the same age as the twins. Catherine would go shopping with them twice a month, they would socialise as well as grocery shop. But Catherine never arrived at the groups meeting place that day.   
  
Brodie bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. It seemed that all she had been doing lately was crying, or snapping at people. Mainly snapping at Fulton, but honestly, she thought she had fair enough reason to. Maybe it as displaced anger, but at that very moment, she hated him. How dare he just waltz in here and start being a poster child for a happy family? He knew nothing about them, he probable started the week without even knowing that they existed. How could he possibly care about them?  
  
Brodie grabbed an apple, one of the only eatable things in the fridge, and threw it onto the plate that she had slammed down before. She looked up at the others, who were still sitting around the table eating. The twins weren't speaking to each other, but they were also not watching her. They were just minding their own business. Fulton, on the other hand, was pretending he was not watching her as she stormed around the kitchen.   
  
She opened the draw and pulled open a knife, one of the biggest knives, a knife that would be much to large for the task of cutting the apple, and waved it menacingly. Brodie could not help but smirk when Fulton recoiled a little. Yeah, he wasn't watching her at all.   
  
Fulton watched as she took the impossibly large knife and prepared to cut her apple. He wanted to tell her that it was unnecessary to use such a big knife, but he also knew that that would send her on another rant of how she didn't need his help, so he decided to leave it be.   
  
Brodie sliced the apple in half, and then, as she prepared to cut the halves into half again, the knife slipped, and she cut her hand.   
  
"Ah, Shit!" Brodie cursed. Fulton stood quickly and crossed to her, taking her hand in his. The cut looked deep, not deep enough to require stitches, but it was bleeding profusely.   
  
"Brodie said a bad word!" Dominic sang.   
  
"Cool, is that blood?" Ryan stood, trying to get a better look. Fulton turned Brodie, who was in a slight state of shock, so that she was not facing the boys, and turned on the taps, holding her bleeding hand under it.   
  
"Boys, can you go to the living room please. I will help Brodie with this…" Fulton told them. The twins looked as though Fulton had just cancelled Christmas, but they stood and left the room anyway.  
  
"I don't need your help…" Brodie began softly.   
  
"I know, I know." He told her. "And I understand, but could you just let me help you this time…This is a bad cut, so you can either let me clean it for you, or you can stand here bleeding and tell me how you don't need me…"  
  
Brodie looked at her hand and paled, there was still blood gushing from the cut that was across her palm, and Fulton's hand was still holding her under the water. There was a thin coating of her blood on both their hands. "Fine…" she whispered, looking away.   
  
"Good" Fulton sighed. "Now, this could hurt a little…"  
  
"Like you haven't hurt me enough lately!" Brodie added. He hated it when she went on one of her little rants, but at least it was a way of keeping her awake. She was paling still.   
  
"Just do me a favour, lecture all you want, just come up for air every couple of minutes…" he smirked.   
  
But she was silent as he held her hand under the water. He looked up at her to see she was breathing evenly, but had her eyes shut.   
  
"Don't like blood" she said softly, as if realising that he was staring at her. "How can you do this?"  
  
"Until you have seen blood on the ice you are skating on, this is nothing…" Fulton told her, and watched as she winced. "Where do you keep the first aid kit?"  
  
"Beside the stove" she told him, and suddenly, his grip on her wrist was gone as he let her go, and then came back soon after with the first aid kit.   
  
"This is going to hurt, but I give you permission to hit me, with your good hand, of course" he smiled as he applied disinfectant cream to the cut. Brodie winced, swore and slapped him hard with her good hand. Fulton smiled a little.   
  
"You are enjoying this!" Brodie accused. Fulton shrugged. "You are, aren't you, you shit! God, I hate you so much it isn't even funny."  
  
She pulled her hand away, and took the bandage that he was holding. She struggled to wrap it around her injured hand without hurting herself more. After about a minute of watching his proud sister struggle, Fulton moved to help her. "I hate you!"  
  
"I know" he sighed.   
  
Brodie was still pledging her hatred for him, but he didn't care, for a minute there, they had felt like real family.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The phone was ringing. Brodie sighed and went to pick up the phone, forgetting about the cut across her palm. When the back of the phone pressed against her bandaged hand, she winced, and picked up the phone with the other hand.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, is Fulton there?" The voice on the other end of the line asked. Brodie sighed.   
  
"Unfortunately yes" she replied.   
  
There was a pause, and then the other voice asked "Well, could you be a dear and go and get him for me?"  
  
"No, I couldn't be a dear and get him!" Brodie replied quickly. The voice on the other end of the line sighed.   
  
"Can I leave a message then?"  
  
"No, I am not his answering service. And I am definitely not his secretary." Brodie replied.   
  
Taking a deep breath to calm their nerves, the voice tried again. "Who are you?"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Dean Portman, Fulton's roommate." Dean replied, "I ask again, who are you?"  
  
"Genetically, I am his sister." Brodie shrugged. "Doesn't stop me from hating him though…"  
  
"Girl, you have rage issues…" Dean muttered to himself. Brodie rolled her eyes.   
  
"Me? I have rage issues?" she laughed a little. "I am not the one who got kicked out of a hockey game after three seconds…"  
  
"How did you…? Oh, are you a fan? I will send you an autographed picture if you let me talk to Fulton" Dean told her. Brodie rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the couch.   
  
"Like, oh, my god, that is always want I wanted. An autographed picture of Dean Portman…he is such a dream!"  
  
"Thank you" Dean sighed. "But unfortunately, as much as I would love to date a raving loony, I am taken…"  
  
"Newsflash, sarcasm!" Brodie exclaimed and then paused. "Taken? Are you my brothers lover?"  
  
"WHAT! No, that is…no, I am not gay." He replied "I am taken by a girl. A very nice girl, a great girl…"  
  
"Oh, does my brother know. If you hurt him Dean, I will have to break you heart…but then again, I don't really care!"  
  
"Listen, can you just put Fulton on?" Dean asked.   
  
"He is showering" Brodie shrugged. "I don't know when he will be done…wait, hark, what is that I hear, I think he is coming down the stairs…"  
  
Fulton made his way down the stairs, brushing his wet hair out of his face. When he got to the bottom, he saw that Brodie was talking to someone on the phone. Brodie stood and held out the phone to him.   
  
"The phone, sir" she said in a butler's accent. Fulton thanked her and then paused.   
  
"Your hand is bleeding again. Do you want help changing the bandage?" he asked her. Brodie looked at the bandage and shrugged, disappearing into the kitchen.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Fult, Dude, what is with the girl and the hostility?" Dean asked.   
  
Futon chuckled. "Don't mind her, she just hates me"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Well, another chapter over.   
  
Note number three, Nothing on TV right now, so I get up, flip through the channels, stopping on Disney channel, and guess who I see. Every one's favourite Cowboy pointing at a wheaties box saying "hey y'all, that's us!" I am now Watching D2. 


End file.
